The proposed Tufts Memorial Park in Pinehurst is neither needed nor wanted.

The Comprehensive Parks and Recreation Plan concludes that Pinehurst does not need a new park.

Eighty percent of respondents to Pinehurst’s 2012 survey are happy with the current supply of parks.

The 2011 Comprehensive Long-Range Plan recommends extending the village center along a northerly corridor, away from the Village Green.

The village’s own Historic Preservation Commission voted against the park proposal. And yet, there it is, tied originally to a project to improve the existing sand parking lot.

The insertion of the proposed park into the parking lot issue created myriad problems, more than doubled the project’s known costs, and delayed any resolution to the village’s parking dilemma. It is the sole reason the existing sand parking lot needs to be relocated.

This, in turn, would require encroachment onto the existing Village Green and the destruction of 90 mature longleaf pines.

And that threatens the village’s Historic Landmark designation. The Village Council should put the park proposal on hold and use a portion of the money budgeted for it to undertake the Cultural Landscape Report recommended by the National Park Service.

If the mayor and council proceed with the park, they will leave a pictorial legacy of lumber trucks on the Village Green while chain saws buzz in the background. It will be a day of shame for the village.

This project has grown out of all proportion and taken on a life of its own. It is time to ask whether it still makes sense, to assess the current situation, and to ask whether it is really what the village residents and business owners want.

Debbie Miller

Pinehurst